The astonishing impact of Stamp Duty on homeowners and the housing market has been revealed by the latest report from the HomeOwners Alliance.
Average Stamp Duty paid on buying a home has jumped from £532 in 1995/6 to £5957 in 2011/12. And in London, the average amount of Stamp Duty paid by homebuyers has rocketed to £17,529.
Stamp Duty has risen 7.1 times faster than inflation, 6.5 times faster than average earnings and 4.6 times faster than house prices since 1995/6. And in a further blow to the housing market today it is now taking far longer for homeowners to save for Stamp Duty.
Average Stamp Duty paid is now equivalent to 11 weeks average earnings, up from eight days average earnings in 1995/6.
The Government forecasts it will make as much money taxing people buying their homes as it will from the "sin taxes" on alcohol and tobacco by 2017/18.
A policy that has been slammed as being completely inconsistent with its proclaimed aim of helping homeowners and discouraging smoking and drinking.
